Paper Clips (2004)

I have a couple of nits to pick with Paper Clips. As commendable as the actions of the students and teachers were, the movie was simply not very interesting. I would have preferred that the film at least try to challenge the viewers, considering the complexities of modern race matters.Instead, we receive a brief introduction to what the school set out to do, and then we are treated with 45 minutes of teary eyed commemorative speeches and dedication ceremonies. The movie feels like 10% journey and 90% destination celebration.Also, the movie is described as an experiment about the Holocaust, leading to a miracle. There wasn't really any experiment (more of a project), and what happened was hardly a miracle. What was achieved was the product of hard work, dedication, and perseverance of all involved. Calling it a miracle actually cheapens their work.

I teach 8th grade and look forward to showing this movie every year. It holds the attention of my students and is a great way to give them information about the Holocaust and remind them of the power of working together as a community. I was able to stop through Whitwell several years ago and was able to see the memorial created by this community, it is worth the trip if you are ever in the Chattanooga area. I'm not enough of an expert to offer an unbiased critique of the work of the film makers, but the work of these kids, and their community, is nothing short of amazing. This story deserves to be told. It never fails to touch me, and my students, no matter how many times I watch it.

Inasmuch as I believe that stories like this should be told, I tend to agree with other "negative" reviewers in saying that this should be considered more of a congratulatory promotional video for the Paper Clips project than a "documentary." This one could have been a 22-minute TV special and covered everything adequately.This movie tells of the outpouring of support and affection a small town in Tennessee gets after they receive national coverage of their project to collect 6 million paper clips to see "what 6 million looks like." They receive an outpouring of national and international letters and eventually the project becomes even bigger than they had ever expected.While it has its slow parts, my chief complaint was that the syrupy violin music which permeated the *entire* movie (I kid you not) began to feel, ah, just a LITTLE manipulative. If you want to cry your eyes out both because of the tenderness and sadness of the disgrace that was the Holocaust, in addition to the fact that "these simple southern kids, man, these kids are honoring them ... sniff" then this is a movie for you.The characters 1-dimensional, the kids are all positive, the teachers are reformed bigots, the holocaust survivors stories are touching and moving, and everyone is just so bloody positive about the whole thing.If you're looking for anything hinting at controversy, the biggest is - (drum fill) Southern kids aren't all complete racists. Wow.I suppose the greatest failure of the movie is that it truly leaves absolutely no room to actually have the viewer make up their own mind about anything... this would be a much more powerful piece if it provided any sort of counter-point to the constant smiley-faces, and actually challenged the viewer to use a brain cell.Instead, it's a tear-jerking, overtly manipulative story which leaves little room for nuance.

"Paper Clips" is not only a film that school children throughout this nation should see, but also one that shows clearly how stupid it is to maintain stereotypes. Here are southern school children, kids from Whitwell, Tenn. Middle School, who decide to do something significant when they learn about the Nazi Holocaust.What begins as a simple plan, to collect six million paper clips, turns into a project of several years. And it helps the teachers and students open their eyes to the outside world, learn about what happened and also helps outsiders learn more about these kids.This is an absolutely fascinating film. It celebrates the tenacity of these children, but never tries for anything maudlin. Yet, it's completely moving. There are scenes here - especially when survivors of the Nazi concentration camps speak to the townsfolk - that will move you to tears.There isn't a single dull or dishonest moment in this film. We see one of the teachers admitting to prejudices and then get to witness how this project helped him. We see children acknowledging they knew nothing about the Holocaust when they started the project and how much it has helped their worldview and how they see other races.I saw "Born Into Brothels" and it's a very good film. But how could "Paper Clips" have been ignored by the Oscars? I wish the idiots who claim the Holocaust was a myth, that the Nazis did not exterminate six million Jews and five million invalids, homosexuals, gypsies and others during the Third Reich would see this film, along with Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog" (1955) and James Moll's "The Last Days" (1998).If the students at Whitwell Middle School are any indication of America's future, they give me hope.